'Law & Order' out, Conan O'Brien in? Weird doings at NBC

The longest-running drama currently on TV could stop running in a couple weeks: There's a report that NBC is cancelling
"Law & Order."

Just as strange, it's looking like a series executive produced by NBC pariah
Conan O'Brien has a real chance at a midseason spot on the network's schedule.

The word on "L&O"
comes from Deadline.com, which says the network decided to cancel the show after 20 seasons. NBC declined to comment on the report to
Zap2it.

"Law & Order" is in its 20th season, which ties it with "Gunsmoke" as the longest-running prime-time drama in TV history. NBC Entertainment president Angela Bromstad said earlier this year that she didn't want to be the executive who canceled the show, but that may indeed end up being the case.

That won't mean the end of the "Law & Order" brand, though: "SVU" is a near-lock to return next season, and Deadline says that a West Coast incarnation of the show, "Law & Order: Los Angeles," is a go for 2010-11 as well.

Meanwhile, Deadline.com
also reports that NBC is strongly considering a midseason order for
"Garza," a show produced by O'Brien's company Conaco (and which was ordered to pilot shortly after O'Brien's "Tonight Show" exit). The drama stars
Jimmy Smits as a Supreme Court justice who gives up his seat and returns to private practice.

John Eisendrath ("Alias," "My Own Worst Enemy") created the show, which has flown under the radar for much of pilot season but has apparently gained quite a few fans at the network once the finished product came in.